Pool table with coin-operated means to release balls to players



Oct. 20, 1959 H. T. VAN ORDEN. 299999250 7 POOL TABLE WITH COIN-OPERATED MEANS TO RELEASE BALLS To PLAYERS Filed June 26, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet .1

I I 1 42 Z0 ze i 25' INVENTOR. H17. VAN ORDEN v fj HTTOZ/VEY 20, 1.959 H.IT. VAN ORDEN 2,909,260

POOL TABLE WITH COIN-OPERATED MEANS TO RELEASE BALLS TO PLAYERS Filed June 26, 1957 4 SheetsSheet 2 v INVENTOR,

11 MqN ORDEN Y fly, 5 BYZLXM HTTOENEY Oct. 20, 1959 H. T. VAN ORDEN 2,999,260

POOL TABLE WITH COIN-OPERATED MEANS TO RELEASE BALLS TO PLAYERS Filed June 26, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. H T. Wm QRDE mfg A 7' TORNEY 7 Oct. 20, 1959 H. T. VAN ORDEN POOL TABLE WITH COIN-OPERATED MEANS TO RELEASE BALLS TO PLAYERS Filed June 26, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

United Sttes Patent i 'POOL TABLE WITH COIN-OPERATED NIEANS TO RELEASE BALLS TO PLAYERS Harold T. Van Orden, Montville, NJ.

Application June 26, 1957, Serial No. 668,151 2 Claims. (Cl. 194-48) This invention relates to amusement devices and, more particularly, to a coin operated pool game.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an amusement device in the form of a novel pool game that utilizes a flat table surface having a plurality of ball receiving openings and a plurality of colored balls adapted to be used in play therewith.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an amusement device of the above type having coin operated means for making the balls of the game available for play in response to the insertion of a predetermined number of coins of certain denomination.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel coin operating mechanism for receiving a predetermined number of selected coins and for actuating the ball return mechanism of the table for discharging the balls into a manually receivable position for use by the players of the game.

A further objectof the invention is to provide a ball collecting device for games of the above type in which all of the balls dropping through the openings in the table top are accumulated at a central location, a ball carrier being disposed at said location, and trip means for effecting tilting of the ball carrier to discharge the balls into a manually receivable position in response to the insertion of a predetermined number of coins of a coin operating mechanism.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an amusement device made in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of an amusement device shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is an end elevational View of the device shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged top elevational view, with the top of the'table removed to show the internal construction thereof;

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged longitudinal cross sectional view taken along line 7--7 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a transverse cross sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary cross sectional view showing one of the operating elements shown in Figure 7 in a different position;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross sectional view showing certain parts of the apparatus shown in Figure 7 in an adjusted position;

Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10 showing the parts in a still further modified position;

Figure 12 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view showing a detail of one of the other operating elements of the present invention; and I v t Figure 13 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal cross sectional view showing the parts of the ball receiving carrier forming a part of the present invention,

Patented Get. 20, 1959 Referring now more in detail to the drawing, and more particularly to Figures 1 to 3 thereof, an amusement device 15 made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a table having a substantially flat table surface 17. This table top is provided with a side hole19 having a pair of posts 21 one disposed at each side thereof, a similar side hole 21 and posts 22 at the opposite side of the table, and an end hole 23, 25 and associated posts 24, 26, disposed at each longitudinal extremity thereof. The center of the table top surface 17 is also provided with a plurality of center posts 28. The rules of the game may be varied as may be desired. However, the object of the game will ordinarily be to attempt to drop as many balls as possible into predetermined ones of the holes, on a competitive basis, between a plurality of players using the table simultaneously. Since the actual rules of the game form no part of the present invention, they will not be considered in detail.

The ball return mechanism, however, does form a part ofthe present invention and is clearly shown in Figures 3, 4, 12, and 13 of the drawing. As the balls drop ure 13, the carrier is rotatably supported upon horizontal pivots 41 for movement within a vertical plane upon brackets 42 secured to the bottom or base 43 of the table frame. The pivot 41 is so arranged that the carrier is normally biased by gravity toward a tilted discharge position since the open end (right-hand, Fig. 13) of the carrier is arranged to support a greater number of balls than the opposite end. However, a pivoted trip lever 44 that is rotatably supported upon a pin 45 carried by brackets 46 upon the base 43, normally engages with a bracket 46, as shown in Figure 12, to prevent the tilting of the carrier 40 to a discharge position. This lever is maintained in the locking position by means of a torsion spring 47 carried by the pin 45. A stop member 49 supported at the front of the table normally engages the end ball 30 so as to prevent the balls from dropping downwardly from the ball carrier when it is maintained in this horizontal position.

The ball carrier is arranged to be supported in the horizontal position until the release of the locking lever 44 is'aifected. This release can be made to depend upon the insertion of a predetermined number of coins into the machine so that this game may be readily adapted for use as a profit making device. A coin mechanism 50 forming a part of the present invention is shown in the drawing for effecting this release movement of the lever ball rack 38 which is accessible to the players. A coin slot 52 that is in communication with the table frame 32, as'shown in Figure 2, is arranged to receive a plurality of predetermined types of coins as may be controlled by the size of'the slot. This slot extends into communication with a coin chute or guide 53 disposed inside of the table framewhich has one open end arranged above a coin receiving tray 55. The guide is also provided with a substantially vertical downwardly extending branch 56 for receiving certain ones of the coins inserted into the slot 52. The guide 53 including its branch 56 together constitute a Y-shaped conduit; Both the guide 53 and its branch 56 have a width slightly in excess of the Width of a coin and a height or depth slightly in excess of the diameter of the coin, in the manner of coin chutes. The movement of the coins is controlled by a gate mechanism 58 that is rotatably supported upon a transverse pin 59 carried by the coin guide. This gate is provided with three radial vanes 69 so as to require the insertion of two coins before the mechanism can be operated. The upper two vanes 60 (Fig. 7) are approximately a quadrant apart and the lower vane 60 bisects the obtuse angle between them. In the normal position, as shown in Figure 7, the first coin to be inserted 62a will abut one vane 60 blocking the exit slot and rotate the gate 58 so that the blocking vane 63 will then lie along the lower wall of the guide and the coin 62a will be dropped into the coin tray 55. This rotation of the gate 58 is assured because another similar vane 60 disposed in the vertical position cannot be rotated in the opposite direction since it is in abutment with an adjacent wall. However, the second coin 62b to be inserted will abut this vane 69 which has been rotated to a position blocking the side extension 56 by the first mentioned coin 6211. So that the second coin 62b, as shown in Figure 9, will be automatically directed downwardly into the extension slot 56. This second coin is then received in association with adjacent operating members, as will hereinafter be described for effecting the release of the balls 30 from the carrier 40 to the released position 30a in the rack 38.

A push button 66 is slidably received within a bore 65 in the side wall 32 of the table frame immediately beneath the coin receiving slot 52. In the event that no coins are dropped into the slot or an insufficient number thereof are inserted, the inward movement of the plunger 66 is inoperative to effect actuation of the release mechanism. However, in the event that the predetermined number of coins have been inserted and the gate 58 has operated in the aforementioned manner, the last inserted coin 62b will be in proper position for effecting operation of the mechanism. A pair of channel shaped brackets 68 are arranged one on each side of the push button 66 and are rigidly secured to the side wall 32. As is more clearly shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7, these brackets 68 are provided with slots 70 through which securement bolts 71 extend which support the ears 72 of a U-shaped bracket 73 for reciprocating longitudinal movement. This bracket 73 slidably supports a similarly shaped U-shaped coin carrier 75 therein, as more clearly shown in Figure 8. An operating bar 77 overlies the coin carrier 75 and is arranged for relative longitudinal movement with respect to the bracket 73 and the carrier 75. A pair of transversely extending pins 78 secured to the bracket 73 are slidably receivedwithin a longitudinal slot 79 in the perating bar 77 and act as limit stops for limiting the longitudinal movement of the operating bar 77 relative to the bracket 73. A transversely extending pin 81 secured to the coin carrier 75 is slidably received within aligned longitudinal slots 32 in the bracket 73 for limiting movement of the coin carrier relative to the bracket. A coin engaging finger 84 and actuating arm 85 are rigidly secured to the inside end of the plunger 66. The finger 84 is operative to abut the edge of the positioned coins 62b to urge it into engagement with the beveled surface 99 of the operating bar 77. The operating arm 85 is operative to simultaneously abut against the coin carrier 75 so that upon inward movement of the plunger 66 to the adjusted posi-' tion 6611, the operating bar 77 and coin carrier 75 are moved to adjusted positions 77a, 75a by this combined action against the action of associated springs which tend to return the parts to their original position. A first pair of heavy springs 87 act between the'brackets 73 and the coin carrier ,75,'while a pair of lighter springs 88 act against the operating rod 77 and thecoin carrier 75. This inward movement of the plunger thus effects similar end 91 rotates the locking lever 44 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figures 5 and 12 to disengage the bracket 48 of the ball carrier to permit the carrier to drop to the discharge position hereinbefore described. After all of the balls have dropped out of the carrier, the carrier will remain in the tilted position until a ball is again dropped into the opposite end of the carrier 40, so as to rotate the ball carrier back to its normally horizontalposition. In response to the release of the plunger 66a, it will commence movement toward its normal position 66, so that the locking lever 44 will be operative to rotate back to its normally locking position by the action of the associated torsion spring 45, automatically whenever the first ball is dropped into the carrier 40, independently of any subsequent action of the coin operating mechanism.

Furthermore, upon the release of the plunger 66a to permit it to return to its normal position 66, the heavy springs 87 will first return the coin carrier 75 to its original position. The movement of the coin carrier will then cause the later movement of the operating bar 77a to its normal position 77 through the action of the lighter springs 88 which do not become tensioned until after the operating bar has commenced the return movement. In the interval, however, a slot 92 in the coin carrier 75 is brought into registry with the coin 62b, as shown in Figure 11, so that it can drop downwardly through that slot and a similar slot 93 of the bracket 73. A check arm 95 (Fig. 10) rotatably carried by the brackets 68 is provided with a centrally disposed saddle 96 which may be rotatedduring the first longitudinal movement of the coin 62b to permit it to pass thereby, but which is secured against rotation in an opposite direction upon the return movement of the parts by a spring 99 acting upon an extension arm 98 of the check arm. Thus, the coin 62b is held in the position shown in Figure 11 so as to assure its dropping through the slots into the coin receiving tray 55. Finally, a transverse pin 94 carried by the operating arm 77, as shown in Figure 5, limits the movement of the operating arm relative to the coin carrier so that all of the parts are maintained in the proper aligned relationship for each operation thereof. It will also be noted that during the actuating movement of the plunger 66, a coin 62b and coin carrier move simultaneously, as shown in Figure 10, so that the coin is held out of registry with the slots 92, 93, until the aforementioned return movement.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to the construction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such is not to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, which is best defined by the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A coin operated actuated mechanism for amusement devices comprising, in combination, a slot for receiving a plurality of single coins, means for alternately directing said coins to different stations, one of said stations having positioning means for supporting a single coin in predetermined relationship for effecting a predetermined movement, said one station comprising a U- shaped-bracket, a U-shaped coin carrier slidably supported upon said bracket for reciprocating longitudinal movement, an operating bar slidably supported upon said bracket for longitudinal movement relative to said bracket and said carrier, manually operated means for effecting longitudinal movement of said carrier and said operating bar, said manually operated means comprising a plunger, a finger carried by said plunger for abutting engagement with a coin, said coin being received intermediate said finger and said operating bar, said coin in response to movement of said plunger toward said bar effecting longitudinal movement of said bar, an operating arm carried by said plunger for abutting engagement with said coin longitudinal movement of the operating bar 77 whose 75 carrier, saidarm in response to said movement of said plunger effecting longitudinal movement of said coin carrier simultaneously with the movement of said bar, a rotatable check arm supported upon said U-shaped bracket in the path of movement of said coin between said plunger and said operating bar, said check arm being rotatable out of blocking movement with the movement of a coin in one longitudinal direction in response to inward movement of the coin toward said operating bar, said check arm obstructing the return movement of the coin in an opposite longitudinal direction in response to return movement of said plunger and said operating bar, a slot in the bottom of said carrier and a slot in the bottom of said bracket, said coin being longitudinally spaced from said slot in said carrier during the entire inward movement of said plunger, and means for effecting movement of said carrier relative to said bar in response to release of said plunger to register said coin with said carrier slot, whereby said coin is operative to drop through said slots in said carrier and said bracket.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said movement effecting means comprises a first tension spring extending between said carrier and said bracket, and a second tension spring acting between said carrier and said bar, said second tension spring being tensioned to effect longitudinal movement of said bar in response to return longitudinal movement of said carrier relative to said bracket by said first spring.

1 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

